Carton stenciling device



May 3, 1 38- s. L. WINSLOW 2,115,757.

CARTON .STENCILING DEVICE V Filed July 11, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jef/z L. Wins/0W INVENTOR BY 5f 71-rom-uaxr 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 s. L. WINSLOW CARTON STENCIIJING DEVICE Filed July 11, 1956 v R v mm May 3, 193-8.

INVENTOR rim as May 3, 1938 UNITED STATES canon smarmd nnvrcn Application OH-a and more particularly to oneof the automatic typeioruseinstencilingshipringcartonsan the like. g At the present time, due to the cheapness of corrugated paper cartons and their combination of light weight and strength, a great many are used in shipping small and medium-sized packages. It is usually necessary in letter each caratonwiththenameoftheaddresseeaswellasmiscellaneous information such ascontents, lot number. etc. This is usually done by means of a stencil which may be made of any thin, strong material such as paper, brass and the like. The 15 stencil is'held in place with one hand and the A inked brush is applied with'theother. There are also stenciling devices consisting essentially ofaroilwhichholdstype. 'lhetypeofthe --roliisinkedcontinuouslyasthecaitonpasses beseenwhenthecartonsarestoredorplaced inapile. I'hrthisreasomitishighly important to have a mechanical device for stenciling the endsofcartons. gg'The dmethodisunsatisfactorywher'ea numberofcartonsaretobesteneileddue inturnoperatesaclutchl thecartoninpositionand July u, use, Serial No. sales (a. isi-izii msinventionrelatestoastenciiingmachine,

A further object of the invention is the pro vision of a machine which stencils cartons neatly and quickly with printing or a design of any. reasonable size. Other objects will appear hereinai'ter as the description proceeds. 5

lhese objects are accomplished by a machine having a belt conveyor which delivers the carton through adjustable side guardrailswhich are adapted to hold the carton firmly in position while the stenciling is being applied. 'lfhesten- 10 oil and brush are mounted in a frame which swings about a vertical shaft. As the frame swings against the end of the carton, the brush automatically moves across and back over the face of the stencil thereby printing the legend 16 vicefor holding the carton in place and means g5 for releasing it after it is printed. Figure 7 is a detailed view of the stencil holder. Figure 8 is a detailed elevation of the'stencil holder.

- Inall the figures, irepresents mils which make up the roller conveyor for carryi the carton so I to the printing device. A belt 2 passes over the mllsltoassistincarryingthecartonintoand am from its position as it is stenciled. A tripping lever is indicated as 8 which extends slightly above the. plane of the conveyor and which as lever ii whichismountedon theshaiti! which. in. turn revolves in the hollow shaft il. isoperatedbythei'riction clutch ll. 'Ihisin is operfied by the shaft ll, lever ll, rod ll,

of a disc 23 which bears against the guides 3 to assist in holding the carton in position while it is being printed. The mechanism is operated by the motor 33, gear box 33, chain and sprockets 3|, 32, 33, 33, 33, and 33.

In the operation of the machine, the carton is delivered to the stenciling device by means of the rollers and belts I and 2. When the carton passes over the tripping lever 3, the machine is set into motion through levers, which engage the positive type clutch I which allows the mechanismto go through one complete cycle of operation. As shown in Figure 2, the clutch l is activated through levers by a carton passing over the trip 3. The clutch 4 is of the one revolution type similar to those used on a punch press. When the tripping lever 3 is depressed by the carton, clutch l is operated through levers so that it engages the load and pulls it through 360", after which it disengages itself and remains at rest until tripped again. The carton then moves to stop 3 and the guides 5 arepressed firmly against the carton by means of the segmental disc 23'.

carton travels promptly up to stop 3. The frame Y lthen swings through 90 about the shaft l2when a spring latch on the outside end which is beveled in the'f ront side snaps into a rectangular socket to hold the frame during the stenciling operation. The shaft l2 turns the frame 1 by a connection through the friction clutch M which is in turn connected to the hollow shaft l3. This hollow shaft is connected rigidly to the frame 1 and when the frame reaches the end of its travel in position across the end of the carton, the friction clutch ll slips leaving the hollow shaft l3 stationary but the inside shaft l2 continues to turn and slides the stencil brush 3 which is in turn operated by the rod and levers l3 and II completely across the stencil 3 and back to the normal position as shown. in Figure '7.

As the brush returns to the normal position it comes in contact with the vertical piece 33 on the spring latch (Figure 8) mentioned above and pulls this latch out of the socket. The frame 1 is then free to swing from the end ofthis carton to the open position. The stop. 3 is then pulled down by levers 23, 23, and 21 and the action of the cam 23. The belt 2 then pushes the carton forward out of the machine and the stop 6 is returned to its original position by the spring 25. The machine is then again in position to receive the next carton. The segmental disc 23 is also designed so that it revolves with the shaft l3 and comes in contact with the guide rails 5 pressing the same slightly against the side of the carton to hold it firmly during the stenciling operation. This disc turns and leaves the guide rails free which allows the cartons to enter and leave the machine.

The brush a is held in the frame r by a bolt and wing nut. This frame is slotted so that the brush can be adjusted vertically for the desired position for stenciling. The stencil is held in the frame 1 by a vertical clamp on the outside of the frame. A small metal hookis clamped on to the other end of the stencil and hooked around a vertical spring. The stencil can be set at any height in the frame 1. The brush is also easily replaceable and one is selected for the proper width of the stencil. These brushes have a soft felt pad in the center with bristles on either side. The felt pad extends to the end of the bristles and is kept moist with in]: as needed.

The safety switch arrangement is located on the bottom of the frame I as shown in Figures 3 and 4' which consists of a lever 31 attached to an electrical switch 33. As the frame 1 moves through 90 parallel to the end of the carton if any obstruction comes in contact with the lever 31, which is very easily moved, the switch 33 is opened and the machine is stopped thereby avoiding damage or errors in operation. The lever 31 is held in an outward position by a spring not shown. After the frame 1 reaches its final position in this travel, the lever 31 is moved but at this time the switch 33 is mechanically held in contact for the continuous operation for one cycle of the machine.

As the frame 1 swings 90 around shaft II the safety switch lever is .carried with it in the position shown in Fig. 3. During the movement of the frame if any'obstruction comes in contact with lever 31, itis easily moved and operates electrical switch 33 and stops the machine. when frame 1 finally comes into place over the end of the carton the lever 31 is moved back in line with frame 1 and would normally open the switch 33 and stop the machine. However, there is a spring connection in the linkage to allow the lever 31 to make this movement while at this location the As soon as the frame.

formation. It may also be used for printing any design, trade mark, or other legend. The machine herein disclosed is preferably a double unit with two stenciling devices, one for each of two package lines, and so arranged that the stenciling is alternate; that is, one side and then the other, but not stenciling both sides at the same time although this may be done if desired. The preferred method of operation'avoids any possible jamming of the cartons when released because both production lines are delivered to the same when a single production line is fitted conveyor. with the machine herein described, the double arrangement would not be necessary.

The machine herein disclosed offers several advantages over hand stenciling as indicated above.

It is also designed to use paper stencils becauseof their relative cheapness, although any suitable material such as copper, bronze, or silk may be used. In addition to being cheap, paper stencils are quickly and easily cut and are in general preferred.

- It is apparent that many widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof; and, therefore, it is not intended to be limited except as indicatedin the appended claims.

I claim:

1 An automatic stenciling device comprising a conveyor belt for conveying the carton to be stenclled into position, guide rails, means for pressing the guide rails against the carton, a rotatable stencil holder mounted on a vertical shaft, means for rotating the said stencil against the end of a carton and mechanical means for moving a brush across the face of the stencil whereby a legend is stenclled on the carton.

2. An automatic stenciling device for stenciling cartons comprising means for moving a carton up to and away f rom a predetermined position, the carton, a stop adapted to be interposed tem I means for holding the carton firmly in the said position while it is being stenciied', and a rotatable stencil holder mounted on a vertical shaft, mechanical means for moving a brush across the face of the stencil whereby a legend is stenciled on the carton, means for swinging the stencil holder away from the carton, and means for releasing the carton from the said pre-determined 10 position. A

3. An automatic stenciling device comprising a conveyor adapted to move a carton to and from a pre-determined position, adjustable guide rails at the said position for holding the carton firmly,

l5 and means for pressing the said guide rails against the sides of the carton, a stencil holder adapted to swing against the carton, and a brush adapted to be moved across a stencil while the said stencil holder is against the carton, means for removing the stencil holder from the path of porariiy in the path of the carton, and means for removing the stop from the said path.

4. An automatic stenciiing device comprising a conveyor adapted to move a carton to and from a pre-determined position, a tripping device in the path of the said carton'before it reaches the said pre-determined position, said tripping device adapted to set the stenciiing device in operation for one complete cycle only, adjustable guide rails disposed on each side of the carton, means for applying temporary pressure against the sides of the carton, a stencil holder, a stencil mounted therein, and a brush adapted to be moved across the face of the stencil, means for swinging the said stencil holder against the end of the carton, and means for actuating the said brushwhile the holder is in this position.

SETH L. WINSLOW. so 

